Frequently Asked Questions

Payment does help, but IS NOT required!

We ask if you can't help financially, just pay with a time donation to your favorite cause! We want to make our community a better place, and there are so many ways to do that! We are happy to help you find the perfect volunteer fit - just ask!

 We do ask for a minimum donation for our TNR services to help offset costs from transport/ supplies/ neuters/ rabies and other vaccines.   

Any extra you can help with is greatly appreciated and spays it forward to those who cannot afford to pay. 

Trap-Neuter-Return, or "TNR," is the most humane and effective method known for managing feral and stray cats and reducing their numbers. The cats, who typically live together in a group called a colony, are trapped and brought to a veterinary clinic. They're then spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies where appropriate and ear tipped. After they've recovered from their surgeries, the cats are returned back to their original territory where a caretaker provides regular food and shelter. When foster or permanent homes are available, young kittens and friendly adults are removed and placed for adoption. 

credit: https://www.neighborhoodcats.org/how-to-tnr/getting-started/what-is-tnr

 ​​​​​Nationally, 900,000 cats were brought into animal shelters in 2020, of which 11% were euthanized, due to a lack of space and adoptable homes.  Feral Cats, that are surrendered to shelters, face nearly 100% euthanasia because they are generally not adoptable.  The benefits of a TNR’d community cat colony include healthy vaccinated cats, a stable colony size, a controlled population with no new kittens, cat-provided rodent control, and increased lifesaving of cats across the county. TNR reduces the population of community cats in the area and creates a healthier environment for the cats living in the colonies.

TNR- Trap-Neuter-Return:

• Stabilizes feral cat colonies
• Improves cats’ lives
• Works—other methods just don’t
• Fewer kittens are born
• Fewer unwanted cats euthanized in shelters
• Answers the needs of the community
• Protect cats’ lives.

Walk around, talk to people, ask them what they know about the cats. Hand out TNR information. Address issues residents may be having and explain how TNR can help. Recruit feeders and volunteers for the trapping. Gain permission from property owners for needed access. Remember that a cooperative and understanding community will make it much easier for you and the cats, both during and after the trapping.

 An ear tip is the removal of about one centimeter of the tip of an adult cat's ear. This is a universally recognized, safe and humane procedure that is done while the cat is under anesthesia for spay/neuter surgery. This is only done for feral cats, barn cats, or outside community cats.

An ear tip is a visual indicator that a cat has previously been altered and vaccinated. Because feral cats can be difficult to get close to, the ear tip can be seen from a distance and helps prevent re-trapping, transport, stress, and unnecessary anesthesia.  It's simply the best method to let everyone know at a glance that a cat has gone through a TNR program. 

 It’s bad public policy to criminalize kindness …

Feeding bans are notoriously ineffective primarily because they are impossible to
enforce. Also, human nature rarely allows someone to sit idly by while an animal suffers. When a starving animal appears, compassion prevails. Consequently, people will not adhere to an ordinance discouraging the feeding of animals in need, and criminalizing kindness is just bad public policy.

Hungry cats can continue to reproduce, which further undermines the intent of most
feeding prohibitions. Equally important, feeding bans jeopardize the ongoing sterilization and vaccination services provided by caregivers who diligently maintain and monitor cat colonies in the community. It is also important to note that once feeding by humans is prohibited, hungry cats are forced to physically compete with wildlife over available, natural food sources

 Cats will be abandoned with or without TNR …

Unfortunately, cat abandonment does occur. In fact, cats have been abandoned for as
long as people have had pet cats, which is why TNR is necessary today. These periodic abandonments, however, will not derail the overall success of a TNR program because cat colonies can absorb the occasional newcomer yet still show a significant population reduction when the majority of the animals are sterilized.

It’s also important to stress that maintaining a local TNR colony is likely not the
determining factor behind whether someone abandons a pet or not. Surely there are a variety of other issues that factor into this irresponsible behavior. However, efforts should be made to place feeding stations in out-of-the-way locations to minimize the likelihood of desperate people illegally abandoning their pet cats. Other strategies should also be employed to further reduce potential abandonment, such as posting signs about abandonment ordinances at high-profile cat colonies. 

 TNR means fewer cats, which means fewer threats to birds. Other factors pose more
serious threats to bird populations …

According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Web page entitled “Threats to Native Birds”
(birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/conservation/planning/threats), the largest threat to birds is loss (or degradation) of habitat, which results from human development and agriculture. Other significant hazards to bird populations include chemical toxins and direct exploitation from hunting and capturing birds for pets.

There are no studies that show conclusively that pet cats are responsible for declines in wildlife populations. In fact, according to Yolanda van Heezik, who wrote “A New Zealand Perspective” (The Wildlife Professional, Spring 2011), “It’s unclear as to what extent declines of wildlife can be attributed to cats versus other human-related modifications to landscapes.”

Although no studies support the misleading claims that cats are destroying songbird populations, there’s no disputing that cats do in fact kill birds. The point that must be highlighted, however, is that fewer cats mean less bird predation. That being the case, TNR should not be condemned because of potential wildlife predation, but rather embraced so that free-roaming populations can be curtailed as efficiently as possible to minimize potential predatory behavior. 

 Mother cats may leave their kittens for several hours at a time. If the kittens are warm and don’t appear sick or in distress, their mom is likely nearby, getting food or hiding from you.

The kittens’ best chances for survival are with their mom. Her milk is much better quality than kitten milk replacement. She’s able to keep them warm and stimulate them to pee and poop, as well as help them learn to be cats.

Keep in mind that your presence may keep mom cat away, so monitor the nest from a distance. Or you may sprinkle a ring of flour around the nest or place some light twigs atop the kittens. If these are disturbed when you return or the kittens have full, rounded bellies, the mother cat is caring for her babies.